The video shows a young woman falling to her knees as she screams in despair at a crowd of white-clad workers, “please, we beg you, please!” Behind the camera, someone says “this is Zhangjiang, Shanghai! “The police raided the complex and dragged the residents out.” The latest shocking material from the Shanghai lockdown for COVID-19 burned through the Chinese internet on Thursday night for several hours before censors began deleting posts. Other videos and photos from the scene – a residential complex in Shanghai’s Pudong district – showed police and epidemic officers arguing with residents, fighting them on the ground and dragging them away. Parts of the complex in Zhangjiang were ordered this week to act as isolation facilities for COVID-19 patients, according to residents and a statement from the property management company. After people protested the decision, “we were oppressed,” an anonymous resident wrote in a more censored account. China is trapped in a COVID-19 trap it made itself “Instead of receiving a response from government leaders, we were greeted by loads of police officers,” they said. “People were hit on the ground and loaded into police cars. The air was full of deafening screams and helpless screams. “ A statement from the real estate agency confirmed that about 40 people had been evacuated and that “some residents had obstructed” the officers, adding that “the authorities had handled the situation”. The affected tenants were compensated and transferred to units in the same complex, the company said. Shocked by the shock and anger on the Internet, the videos of the incident are based on a growing body of documentation showing abuse and mistreatment by workers dressed in hazmat clothes – nicknamed “big whites” in Chinese for the color of their uniforms – as they struggle to impose enforcing rigid pandemic regulations, not just in Shanghai but in dozens of other cities where tiny COVID-19 case numbers have been dealt with with often draconian restrictions. Aside from the footage from Zhangjiang, other videos have captured “big whites” fighting on the ground and kicking them. screaming, shouting and even throwing things at residents who refuse to comply with the instructions. and beating a dog to death after its owner was sent to solitary confinement. From volunteers and health workers to security guards and police officers, the “big whites” – faceless and largely indistinguishable from head-to-toe nails – have been widely recognized for helping to tackle the pandemic effectively. Of China. they are increasingly hated and feared as a symbol of government exaggeration and abuse. “They are playing the role of cogs in the wheel of a rigid, opaque, undemocratic and unaccountable system,” Yaqiu Wang, a senior researcher in China, told Human Rights Watch. “And the system allows impunity for abuses against residents, which encourages more abuse. “It’s just a vicious circle.” Not all negative interactions involve abuse or mistreatment. Shanghai resident Cissie Hu described growing frustration with workers in her neighborhood, who often refuse to perform their duties – such as picking up garbage and delivering supplies to residents who are confined to their apartments – fear of being infected. “I understand they have their own families to take care of,” he said. “Just because they are portrayed as heroes in the media does not mean they can do anything, and we have met good volunteers in the past. “But as someone trapped at the heart of the epidemic, I would hope we could count on these people.” Ms Hu said the “big whites” should be quarantined on the residents’ bridge to the government and the outside world, “but instead they give us the feeling that they can do nothing. “How can you cross a river when the bridge is broken?” The frustration goes both ways. Neighborhood volunteers, and especially doctors, often bear the brunt of residents’ anger, and many have spoken of abuse and threats. They often have to work long hours wearing uncomfortable, sweaty hazmat suits and face the same struggles to find enough food and supplies as other residents. Even those at the top of the management chain face difficulties. In a resignation letter posted on the Internet last week, Wu Yingchuan, who worked for a neighborhood committee in Pudong, wrote that he and other low-ranking officials often stayed in the dark, urging them to pursue policies they did not understand. In one case, “residents had to stand outside in the cold at night and wait for several hours” to be transported to a quarantine facility, instead of being told a specific time of departure. “All this time, we were the ones who had to deal with their anger, confusion and abuse,” Wu said. In a recording posted on the Internet of what is believed to be a phone call between another neighborhood committee worker and a resident seeking medical help, the desperate official is heard saying, “I have no idea why Shanghai is like this.” “I feel so weak doing anything about it,” they said. “I can not stand it anymore, I can give it up soon.” Globe and Mail could not independently verify the recording. While Chinese police and civil servants – low-level civil servants known as “Chenguan” – have a long history of abusive behavior, volunteers and doctors, the majority of “big whites”, have previously been praised for their sacrifices. tackling the country’s epidemic. But as public anger over the restrictions has grown and abuse videos are circulating on the Internet, perceptions have changed, making their job even more difficult and sparking more conflict. “This is a highly stressful job, no doubt,” said Ms. Wang, an HRW researcher. “People tend to get upset when they are stressed, this is universal. “It only gets worse when you do a job where the people you are dealing with find it unnecessary, counterproductive and try to resist.” The term “big white” was coined to refer to the Baymax character from Disney’s “Big Hero 6”, a friendly health robot that only wants to help people. As public outrage escalated, some instead called anti-epidemic workers “white guards,” a reference to the Red Guards responsible for most of the Cultural Revolution’s abuses during the last decade of Mao Zedong’s rule. In a recent essay, Shanghai-based author Xiao Yi wrote that if there is one movie character that people now think of when they see workers “in white protective clothing”, it is not Baymax, but Star Wars Imperial Stormtroopers . Anonymous under their matching white shells, epidemic workers “do not have to worry about being exposed and held accountable,” Xiao said. “Social responsibility is abolished, as is respect for the rights and interests of others.” Alexandra Li contributed to this report. Our Morning and Afternoon newsletters are compiled by Globe editors, giving you a brief overview of the day’s most important headlines. Register today.
